This section is intended to provide a background or context to the invention that is recited in the claims. The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description and claims in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Users may attempt to access a telecommunications network, such as a cellular network, by using a cellular telephone or other user equipment to place a call or start another type of connection, e.g. a data connection, in the following summarized using the term “call”. One of the first steps in handling the call is to determine whether the call is being placed to emergency services, or is otherwise to be assigned a special “access services code” or “access service class” (interchangeable terms that are both abbreviated “ASC”). This code can be used to give a call for emergency services immediate access.
However, if a large-scale disaster or similar emergency occurs, very large numbers of people may attempt to place calls to emergency services or similarly access other services mapped to a special class. Since all such calls are given immediate access, network congestion can result, and few or none of the calls may gain access to the cellular network.